Yarn control device for uptwisters



April 25, 1961 i D. G. BURNELL YARN CONTROL DEVICE FOR UPTWISTERS Filed July 28, 1959 INVENTOR: DAVID c. BURNELL BY zo Q ATT Y.

United States Patent- YARN CONTROL DEVICE FOR UPTWISTERS David G. Burnell, Lexington, Va., assignor to James Lees and Sons Company, Bridgeport, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed July as, 1959, Ser. No. ssonso 2 Claims. 01. 57-62) This invention relates to yarn spinning apparatus and more particularly to improved balloon control means for producing relatively high twist carpet yarn.

In the production of hard or high twist carpet yarns it has been found that considerable difliculty is encountered in controlling the balloon on a conventional uptwister. Furthermore, when a slub yarn is run on such an uptwister breakage has always occurred. The present invention permits satisfactory twisting of hard twist and slub yarns on an uptwister without breakage.

A primary object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an improved attachment for the carpet yarn up twister which permits twisting of relatively high twist yarn and slub yarn.

A further object of the invention is to provide a modified yarn guide which controls the position of the balloon formed around the yarn package.

A further object of the invention is to replace the conventional yarn guide on an uptwister with an elevated yarn guide.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view partly sectioned showing details of a conventional uptwister with my improved yarn guide,

Fig. 2 is an illustration of the uptwister of Fig. 1 suitable for twisting ordinary or low twist yarn, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail showing the use of a flyer for slub yarn.

The invention comprises essentially the relocation of the twist block on the twister spindle and the substitution of a bar mounted at an elevated position in line with the axis of the twister spindle. For slub yarns a flyer on the yarn package is used instead of the twist block.

Referring now more particularly to. Fig. 1,- an uptwister of the type adapted to my invention comprises a frame, a portion of which is shown at 5, a spindle channel 6 secured to the frame and on which a plurality of twister spindles 7 are journaled by means of a bearing 8 and retaining nut 9. It will be understood that I have illustrated only one of a plurality of similar spindles which are conventionally used on a large uptwister frame.

The spindle 7 is rotated by means of a belt 10 connected to the usual power shaft not shown. A balloon guide 11 is mounted on a bracket 12 and concentrically surrounds the upper partof spindle7 to protect the balloon 13 that is formed by the yarn leaving the spool or package 14 mounted on the spindle 7.

The conventional take-up mechanism comprises a tube or cone 15 journaled on a bracket or shaft 16 in such a manner that the yarn package 17 rests on the builder cylinder 18 which is drivingly connected to a rotating shaft 19. The traverse bar 20 on which thread guide 22 is mounted reciprocates in a plurality of brackets, one of which is shown at 21. The corresponding elements just described which appear in Figure 2 have been given the same reference numerals since these parts of of the uptwister are common to both figures.

. 2,981,648 Patented Apr. 25, i

A twist block 25 is ordinarily used in spinning or twisting relatively hard twist yarn in order to prevent the twist from running back. In the conventional uptwister a yarn guide 26 is mounted on bracket 27 to carry the twisted yarn strand 28 from the twist block to a guide 29 on the traverse assembly. It will be 'noted in Figure 2 that the position of the balloon 13a is well down in the balloon guide 11 and the balloon is constantly in contact and exerting substantial pressure on the inside of balloon guide 11. Even more important is the fact that the flange 30 of the spool is frequently roughened due to cuts or abrasions so that should the yarn contact the roughened flange breakage occurs. It is, therefore, extremely important to prevent contact of the yarn with this flange and this is difficult when the yarn is feeding from the spool directly adjacent the flange. In order to eliminate these conditions and to better control the shape of balloon 13a, I employ an adapter 35 between the top of the spindle and the twist block 25 for the purpose of considerably elevating the top terminus of the balloon 13a. The improved twist block is preferably located 4 /2 inches above the top of the upper flange of the spool, but this dimension can be varied 4 inch without ordinarily causing undue drag on the yarn due to contact either the balloon guide or the spool flange. Even though no actual brea kage occurs due to sharp edges or cuts on the spool flange, any extraneous drag on the yarn causes undesired twist variation. In addition, a transverse steel bar or guide 36 is installed on the twister frame so that the yarn 28 passes vertically upward from the twist block 25 over the yarn guide 36 and thence under a rotating yarn guide 37 mounted on the traverse bar. By the addition of these elements, it is possible to materially increase the twist in the yarn without breakage due to the better shape and control of the balloon and also due to the improved path of travel of the yarn from the twist block to the yarn guide 22, thereby avoiding contact with the spare flanges.

For the purpose of producing or twisting slub yarn, I substitute a flyer 38 for the twist block 25 which permits a modified balloon 39 to form partially above the balloon guide 11. With the substantially increased distance between yarn guide 36 and the eye 40 of the flyer, it is possible to obtain satisfactory balloon control without permitting excessive friction between the balloon and the guide and without the necessity of increasing the diameter of the guides which would be a financially impossible procedure on the standard uptwister spinning frame. It will be noted that the flyer 38 is provided with a lower yarn eye or guide 41 in which the yarn feeds to upper guide 40. This serves effectively as a twist block. The flyer is balanced by a similar pair of guides 40a and lia in the opposite side so that either pair may be used and this construction is important from the standpoint of dynamic balance.

It will thus be understood that the improved provisions for balloon control described herein are very important in preventing yarn breakage where the twist is relatively high. In fact, it was heretofore impossible to twist or ply this high twist yarn on an uptwister due to excessive breakage. The same applies to a slub yarn.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an uptwister having a rotating vertical spindle, a frame in which said spindle is journaled, a cylindrical balloon guide concentric with and surrounding the upper part of said spindle, a horizontal take-up spindle, a builder cylinder for driving a yarn package on said takeup spindle, and a builder motion for traversing the twisted yarn across the periphery of said builder cylinder, the improvement which comprises a stationary yarn guide mounted above the builder motion, and a twist block mounted on the upper end of the spindle in substantial 3 vertical spaced relation above the top of the balloon guide.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the twist block is mounted on the spindle at least 4 inches above the t op'of a'yarn package on the spindle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 957,453 Agel May 10, 1910 

